


The Beautiful Broken

by Iwritefanfictionnottragedies



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 13x17, ANGST ANGST MOTHERFUCKERS, Adorable dorks, Angst, Blood and Gore, Charlie is the best fucking gossiper, Crushing, Fluff, Fluffy kisses, Headbangs on computer rapidly - HERE'S YOUR SABRIEL PEOPLE, How Do I Tag, I WROTE THIS ON A MANIA RUSH, Implied Sexual Content, Kisses, M/M, Nightmares, Ohmygod Dean and Cas are so emotionally constipated i stg, Panic Attacks, Sabriel centric, Sharing a Bed, Sign Language, Sleepy Kisses, Slow Angst, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Painful Death, Torture, Um I don't care that they're dead, Vomiting, Warning: Graphic Descriptions of Violence, recovery fic, selective mutisim, the thing - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-21 00:46:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14273271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iwritefanfictionnottragedies/pseuds/Iwritefanfictionnottragedies
Summary: After Dean and Ketch left, Sam returned to cleaning up the wounded archangel sitting in the dining room.He sat stiffly in the leather chair, his hands gripping so tightly to the seat that his knuckles were white. Gabriel was in utter ruin. The cocky, know-it-all angel that Sam had once despised was gone, and what was left in his place was a skittish shell of a man.The memory was fresh in his mind, of the archangel’s lilting laughter and teasing. Each remark out of his mouth was tinged with sass and sarcasm, a witty quip to combat any statement the hunters made.Sam placed the wire cutters on the table with a thunk, Gabriel twitching at the sound.Anger coursed through his brain as Sam looked the archangel over, searching for injuries. He was going to kill Asmodeus the next time he saw the Prince of Hell.------------Completed!





	1. The Time Between Reality And Fiction

**Author's Note:**

> Eyyyyyyy It's your depressed and confused friend. I, the person who must tag everything they write with ANGST ANGST MOTHERFUCKERS because of how fucking angsty I make these things. Anyway, this started out as a One shot and then holy shit?? I have a fanfiction on my hands?? Well I suppose I must post this.

After Dean and Ketch left, Sam returned to cleaning up the wounded archangel sitting in the dining room.

He sat stiffly in the leather chair, his hands gripping so tightly to the seat that his knuckles were white. Gabriel was in utter ruin. The cocky, know-it-all angel that Sam had once despised was gone, and what was left in his place was a skittish shell of a man.

The memory was fresh in his mind, of the archangel’s lilting laughter and teasing. Each remark out of his mouth was tinged with sass and sarcasm, a witty quip to combat any statement the hunters made.

Sam placed the wire cutters on the table with a thunk, Gabriel twitching at the sound.

Anger coursed through his brain as Sam looked the archangel over, searching for injuries. He was going to kill Asmodeus the next time he saw the Prince of Hell.

Gabriel’s clothes, or what remained of them, were in tatters, stained with blood and other liquids that Sam definitely did not want to know. His curls were matted with more blood, and his skin was bruised and bloody. But his eyes, his eyes were the worst of all. They had so much fear, so much misery burning within them. They were the eyes of a broken man.

As soon as Sam’s hand neared Gabriel again, the man let out a squeak of terror, pressing his body into the chair and trembling. So, movement frightened him. What if Sam told the archangel what he was going to do just before he did it, so he wouldn’t be scared? “Hey, hey. I’m not going to hurt you. Look, we have to get you cleaned up, alright? Can you speak now that your lips are freed?”

God, the fact that he ever had to ask that question to someone was horrible enough.

Gabriel opened his lips, attempting words. A harsh squeak came out, and he coughed up blood. “Oh-um-hey-” Sam fumbled through his speech, grabbing a trashcan and shoving into the archangel’s arms. The man promptly threw up, his chest heaving.

“Okay, so, speech is a no-go. How about nodding? Can you nod your head yes, and shake it for no?” Sam demonstrated the actions. Gabriel slowly lifted his head, giving a quick nod before adverting his eyes. “Alright, good!” Sam gave a gentle smile, glad for progress in communication. “Okay, so, we first need to get you cleaned up before I can dress your wounds. I’ll show you the showers.”

He pushed himself out of the chair, heading for the rooms, expecting the archangel to follow. Instead, Gabriel stayed in the chair, clutching the trashcan. Sam turned back around, exhaling. He pried the trashcan from the man’s arms, placing it on the ground. “Hey, is touch okay? I’m just going to help you up and walk to the bathrooms.” Sam cautiously stuck his hand out, waiting for Gabriel’s reaction. When he received another abrupt nod, he stuck his arm under the archangel, and hoisted the man up.

With Gabriel’s arm around his shoulder, Sam half-walked, half-carried him to an empty room, showing him the bathroom. “Okay, so, you’re going to use the shower, alright? Here’s stuff to clean your hair with, and I’ll be waiting out here with stuff for you to change in and stuff to clean up your wounds.”

He left the archangel in the bathroom, and headed to Dean’s room, looking for something that could fit Gabriel. Eventually, Sam just grabbed some sweatpants, a t-shirt, and a green flannel. Bandages, glue, and painkillers were added to his pile of stuff to take, as well as other medical items. He carried the items back to Gabriel’s room, and was struck by the silence. Wait – why wasn’t the water running?

Gabriel couldn’t have taken that short of a shower – he was gone for barely three minutes! After a moment’s hesitation, Sam knocked at the bathroom door, saying “Please be decent!” and covering his eyes as he walked into the enclosed room.

What he saw was so, so much worse than just seeing Gabriel naked. The archangel was curled up into a tight ball, his face in his knees as he made little whimpers. His face was buried into his torn cloth knees as Gabriel’s body shook with sobs. “Oh, Gabriel…” Sam trailed off. It wasn’t fair for the man to be seen in that way.

God, he really didn’t want to this, but he couldn’t just leave the archangel filthy and wounded. It was clear that Gabriel couldn’t do this himself, and it’s not like anyone else was there to help him other than Sam. However, this still felt like a major invasion of his privacy. Maybe if Gabriel left his clothes on?

“Damn it.” The taller man screwed up his face, before making up his mind. “Alright, Gabriel, I’m going to go up right beside you, okay? I’m going to turn on the water, and you have to let me know if it’s too hot.” Sam walked up to the bathtub, twisting a knob to release bathwater and plugged the drain.

The archangel slowly unclenched his body, touching the water carefully. He hesitated, and then nodded at Sam. “This is a good temperature?” Gabriel nodded again.

“Okay, good. I want you to lay back into the water, and get your hair wet. Is that okay?” Sam reached across the tub for the shampoo and conditioner. Instead of moving his head again, the archangel just laid back, relaxing as the warm water enclosed him. The water had a dirty tint to it, most likely from the blood on his clothes and on his skin.

“Alright, now that your hair is wet, will you sit up again?” Gabriel pushed himself back up, water coursing down his face. “I’m going to put some shampoo and conditioner in your hair, okay? Just to get the blood out.” Sam tentatively rubbed a handful of the liquids into the archangel’s hair, massaging his scalp. “Lay back down again, please.”

The water turned soapy and brown from the blood and conditioner in Gabriel’s hair, and once again, Sam felt a rush of bile to his throat as he thought about what Asmodeus did. The hunter swallowed, and tried to relax. He started humming “Hey Jude”, a song that Dean had always used to calm him when he was little.

“Alright, I’m going to drain the tub now. Will you please stand up? I’ll get you a towel and something to wear.” Sam asked, pulling the plug to the drain. The shorter man pushed himself up, attempting to stand. He took the fluffy towel, knowing what to do with that, and rubbed his hair and his soaked clothes.

Sam quickly grabbed pants and underwear for Gabriel, as well as the medical supplies he had brought to the room. “I’m going to give you a second to change into these pants, and then once you’ve done that, let me know so I can fix up any injuries before you put your shirt on.”

Gabriel nodded again, and Sam slipped out the door. If someone had told him a week ago that he would be taking care of an archangel – Gabriel, nonetheless, he would have told them they were batshit crazy. Yet here he was, watching every movement and word to make sure he didn’t startle the poor man.

The door of the bathroom creaked open again, this time with Gabriel only wearing the pants that Sam had provided, the old clothing thrown on the floor. His chest was littered with cuts and scars, one filthy bandage wrapped around his torso. Sam walked in the room, sitting to the archangel, who decided to perch on the (closed) toilet.

He took a good hour to clean, suture, and bandage every wound, humming old rock songs the whole time. It seemed to calm Gabriel, and that always helped when he was trying to carefully remove glass from the archangel’s skin. Other than a few cuts on Gabriel’s face, everything was bandaged and taken care of.

After Gabriel was finally dressed and cleaned up, Sam realized that despite Dean being the smaller of the two, that did not mean his clothes would fit the archangel. He couldn’t help but let out a laugh at Gabriel’s sweater paws and how the sweatpants pooled slightly around his feet. That earned him a dirty look, which just made Sam laugh harder.

After adjusting the clothes to fit Gabriel, Sam decided to look for food to eat. He rummaged through the pantry, holding up items to show the man, who would respond with either a nod or a shake of his head. They ended up going with black bean broth and hot chocolate, which was an odd mixture, but Sam wasn’t one to judge, having liked mac n’ marshmallow fluff for the majority of his childhood.

He prepared the food, pouring out a bowl of soup for Gabriel and two mugs of hot chocolate for the both of them. When he set down the food on their table, he noticed the archangel had found a radio, fiddling with the knobs. “Hey, do you want to play some music like the stuff I was humming earlier?” Sam reached over for the radio, turning the station to a rock one. “American Pie” poured out of the radio as they ate peacefully, listening to the song.

Gabriel finished his food fairly quick, and gestured for more. “Sorry, Gabriel, but I don’t want you throwing up again. Besides, although your grace has diminished enough that you can taste and enjoy human food, you are still an archangel, who doesn’t need food.”

He pushed his face into a grumpy pout, which causing Sam to chuckle. “If that’s your attempt at puppy eyes, you’re failing spectacularly.” The taller man took both mugs and the bowl, dumping them into the sink. “Alright, since we’ve got nothing better to do, how about I teach you some card games?”

The archangel gestured at his lips in exasperation. “Yes, I know you can’t talk yet. You can still write.” Sam shook his head, and went off to his room to search for a deck of cards.

Sam taught Gabriel everything from poker to BS, them playing into the early hours of the morning. It wasn’t until around 3:00 AM that he realized how late it was, and then went to sleep, forcing the archangel to get some rest as well.

When he woke up six hours later, Sam felt mildly guilty for how well he rested – if Gabriel had needed any assistance during the night, he wasn’t there for him. However, when the hunter walked into the archangel’s room to check on him, he was fast asleep, with a peaceful look across his features.

After scribbling a quick note to Gabriel about him going out, Sam drove out to the nearest bookstore, purchasing an ASL book. With a second moment of thought, he also bought doughnuts, remembering the man’s sweet tooth. The sign language book was so they could communicate – writing took forever, and if Gabriel wasn’t ready to speak yet, then Gabriel wasn’t ready to speak.

It should be fairly easy to learn – he had already started, anyway, with Eileen – and it would give them something to do while they waited for Dean and the others. A mild feeling of uselessness stirred in his stomach, but Sam shoved it away, reminding himself that his brother had told him to stay there and take care of Gabriel.

It’s not like he regretted staying, he just wished that he could be of more help. That’s when his brain remembered Gabriel, who was once an all-powerful archangel that could alter worlds at the snap of his fingers, and was now broken and mute. Guilt coursed through Sam. If he thought he felt useless just for sitting back a bit, what about Gabriel? How horrible could he feel?

Sam shook his head, clearing all the bad thoughts out. No. He wasn’t going to think about that, he was just going to go back to the bunker, and help the archangel recover.

When he walked in, it took him a few seconds to realize that Cas was there, waiting for him. “Cas- hey!”

“Where’s Dean?” Cas questioned. “And who is Gabriel?” Sam stopped in his tracks. “Right. About that. Dean went into the apocalyptic world to find mom and Jack. Also, I have something to show you. Follow me.”

“By himself?” Castiel’s voice echoed outrage, but his eyebrows were knitted together with worry as he walked with Sam down the hallway. “No, with Ketch.” Sam cringed, knowing Cas’s response. “Oh, because that’s so much better!”

He knew that Cas wasn’t actually angry, just worried for Dean, and probably a bit frustrated that he had left without telling him. Worry comes out in different ways, and Castiel getting downright furious about Dean’s predicament just meant that he cared about the man. A lot.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. But- um- try to be careful – but-” The hunter cautiously opened the door to find Gabriel sitting straight up, yawning. “Gabriel?” Castiel stood slack jawed in the doorway. “But- you- you died!”

“Apparently not.” Sam shrugged as the angel ran to hug his older brother. The archangel’s eyes filled with tears as Cas buried his head in Gabriel’s shoulder. “He can’t talk yet, which is why I’m going to teach him sign language.” He held up the book. “Also, I bought doughnuts!”

Cas turned his head back to face Sam. “Why can’t he speak? Was there damage done to his vessel’s vocal chords?” “Not that I know of. I personally believe that he has selective mutism, where one has the ability to talk, but their brain won’t allow it. It’s common among victims of trauma.” Sam explained.

“Trauma? What trauma?” Castiel questioned, finally releasing his brother. “Uh-” Sam threw Gabriel a sideways glance. “Torture. By Asmodeus.” The archangel flinched harshly at that word, his body shaking. “Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. He can’t hurt you. You’re safe.” The hunter rushed to Gabriel’s side, his voice gentle and reassuring. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.” Slowly, the man relaxed, taking one last shuddering breath.

“I’m going to kill him.” Cas seethed, staring at the archangel. “I know. Me too. But right now we have to focus on Gabriel and Dean, okay? They left through the portal at about-” Sam checked his watch “-thirteen hours ago. Meaning that we have eleven hours left. We need to keep a lookout for Dean, and if he’s not back in the next ten hours, we’ll go look for him, alright? In the meantime, I’m going to teach Gabriel and myself sign language.”

“Fine,” Castiel sighed, defeated. “But it’s agreed we murder-”, he glanced at Gabriel, “that dickhead together later?”

“Oh, abso-fucking-lutely.”


	2. If Denial Was Water, I'd Be Drowning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam teaches Gabriel sign language, he travels to the alternate world and saves his family, and has a "special moment" with the archangel at the end. VERY different than the newest episode released, so this may fuck with your brain a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HECC I'M BACK FROM NYC AND READY TO UPDATE. HERE. WE. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  
> ALSO: THE ITALICS (except for the VERY first part) IS THEM SIGNING. IT MIGHT BE CONFUSING AND I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT IN ADVANCE.

So, learning sign language was a lot harder than it looks to be in the movies, but after ten solid hours of nonstop lessons, one gets pretty good at it.

It was difficult to get Gabriel cooperate at first.

_"Gabriel, you have to work with me here. Writing takes too long, and we need to communicate.” Sam explained, setting the book out in front of the two of them. The archangel pointed at his own throat, mimicking talking. “Yes, I know that you want to use your vocal chords, but you can’t speak yet. If your brain is not ready, then you aren’t ready.”_

_The shorter man crossed his arms, frustrated. “Gabe. It takes time to heal. It takes time to recover. You just barely got back from being tortured for years on end. You need time to heal.” Sam reasoned. “Now, will you please work with me until you can speak?”_

Sam had to admit, he was proud of himself for thinking up such an idea. But that wasn’t something he could think about right now. Dean hadn’t come back, and he only had an hour before the portal closed.

Castiel was freaking out, and was prepared to leave through the portal. “Cas, no. If you go in there and get stuck, Dean will never forgive me.” Sam told him, urging the angel to sit down and relax. He felt a soft tap on his arm, and Gabriel started signing.

_Location spell?_

“Wait… That could actually work…” The taller man ran to their stash of location spells, rummaging through the box. “No, no, no – yes!” He pulled out a scrap of paper, reading the description. “For finding someone in an unknown terrain. Need salt, vinegar, name of missing person, blood of their kin, and a empty piece of paper. We have everything!”

The three rushed around, preparing everything. “Okay, all that’s left is the words that I have to say – in the other world. Castiel, take care of Gabriel. If we don’t come back-” “Yes, I know. I’ll find you two.” Cas flashed a grim smile. “You always manage to, don’t you?” The hunter joked. Gabriel raised his hands, with a soft smile.

_Come back to me, Sam._ He traced a symbol on Sam’s forehead.

_I will._

Sam picked up the bowl of materials, the scrap with the spell, and climbed through the rift.

“Invenimus hunc defuit bastardis!” Sam shouted, throwing a match into the bowl. “Dean Winchester!” He quickly held the paper over the smoke until the fire completely went out. When he removed the paper, there was a map inscribed on it, with a direct path to Dean. Thankfully it wasn’t far, but he had to hurry.

With bombs exploding at every left and right turn, this warzone meant imminent death. Then again, his everyday life meant imminent death, and he wasn’t dead yet (not for lack of trying!). Right. Dean.

Sam took his gun, quickly cocking it, and started walking. The ground was dirty – all muck and mud with smoke making his eyes sting. Everything was grey and saddened – there was no civilization for miles, just rock, mud, and more mud. The whistling sound of a bomb passed by his ears, and he dove behind a rock, his heart pounding as he ducked his head into his knees. Everything around him blew to smithereens, yet somehow he survived.

“Sam?” The voice sounded odd to his ears – but he recognized it. It couldn’t of been –

A brown haired teen grinning brightly ran towards him. “Jack!” Sam pulled the boy into a fierce hug. “Wait, Jack, is that-”

_Mom._

The man looked up, seeing his mother for the first time in ages. “Mom!” Sam scrambled to his feet, burying his face in her hair. “Have you found Dean yet? The tracking spell says he’d be here.” He questioned, not letting go.

“Yeah – he’s, he’s right behind us.”

“Sam-Mom-Jack-move!” Sam turned to see his brother running to him just as the world exploded around him.

And then time stopped.

Every dust speck, every piece of rock was frozen in the air. Everything, that was, but him.

Sam ran to pull his brother, his mother, and Jack out of the bomb zone, them all crashing to the ground a safe distance away just as time returned to normal. “What- but- you-” Dean spluttered, looking from Sam to where the bomb just was. “Talk later. Run first.” The younger brother rushed everyone to the portal just as it was about to close, the four of them collapsing on one another on the floor of the bunker.

And just like that, the rip in the world closed.

Sam let out a half- sigh, half-laugh, staring at the majority of his family at the feet of Cas and Gabriel. “We made it!” He cheered, throwing his arm up in victory.

Cas helped them all up to their feet, him first embracing Jack and Mary, and then scolding Dean. The archangel nudged Sam with wide eyes, jerking his finger towards Castiel and Dean.

_In love?_

_Fuck yeah._

Gabriel let out a bark of a laugh, smiling brightly. “And who are you?” Mary questioned, turning to him. “Mom, that’s- that’s the archangel Gabriel.” Sam introduced.

_Hi._

“I didn’t know the archangel was deaf.” She furrowed her brown in confusion. “He’s not. Selective mutism. Trauma. A fuckton of torture. It kinda makes a person stop talking.” He shrugged. “I taught him sign language though, so we can communicate until he can talk again.”

_Nice to meet you._

“What does he mean by that?” Mary turned her questioning gaze to Sam. “Oh- that? That’s “nice to meet you” in sign.” “It’s nice to meet you as well, uncle!” Jack gave Gabriel a grin.

_Uncle?_

_N-e-p-h-i-l-i-m._

It took a second for Gabriel to realize the full word, but when he did, his eyes widened in shock.

_Who is the father?_

_Devil._

_L-u-c-i-f-e-r?_

_Yes._

_What about cage?_

_Long story. Tell later._

Gabriel nodded, satisfied with his answer. “Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. No secret conversations as you like… I don’t know, laugh at us or something.” Dean crossed his arms.

“Dean, I think I’m going to lie down for a bit.” Mary headed off in the direction of her room, and Castiel and Jack walked away to catch up on everything that happened while they were separated.

“Now that everyone’s gone, Sam, are you going to explain what happened back there? With the whole freaky time thing?” “To be completely honest? I don’t know. I don’t have a friggin clue.” Sam sighed. The archangel tugged on his sleeve, then signed “ _protection_ ”. “Gabriel says that it was protection or something like that.”

_Protection. My protection._

“He says… It was his protection.”

“Hold up. Are you saying that he gave you some freaky-deaky protection thing that gives you the power to stop time?” Dean looked from his brother to the archangel.

_Saved your butt._

“Hey, well, Dean, it did save our lives.” Sam reasoned with his brother. “I guess. So, what’s the plan now? Search for Asmodeus and kill his ass?” Dean offered a grin, not realizing Gabriel’s reaction to the name. The shorter man started shaking again, gasping for breath as he pressed himself into the back of a chair. He let out short little sobs, curling up into a ball.

Sam immediately turned to Gabriel, crouching down to his level and pulling the archangel into his arms. “Hey, hey. You’re safe. I promise. Just repeat after me,” he soothed, rubbing the man’s back. “Deep breath in, deep breath out.” The hunter exaggerated his breaths until Gabriel’s breathing returned to normal.

The two stood up, the archangel still clinging tightly to Sam’s hand. “I’ll take him back to his room, okay?” He couldn’t help but flash Dean a look of anger, to which his brother mouthed “What did I do?”

Gabriel laid on the bed, still refusing to let go of Sam’s hand. “Gabriel. Gabe. You’re safe. You’re safe now, you can let go. You can let go, I promise.” Finally, his grip loosened, and the hunter got his hand free. “Look, I’ll be right back, okay? I just have to explain everything to Dean, and then we can play some card games or something.”

The archangel nodded, closing his eyes. Sam took that as permission to leave the room, and to answer his brother’s 1001 questions. “What the hell was that? Why did he react like that? What caused that?”

“Dean, that was an anxiety attack. The word Asmodeus is a trigger for him, so if you could, please refrain from using it. You can use other names to refer to him, just not the A one in particular, as that is what sets Gabriel off. This is a reaction of trauma.” Sam explained as Dean’s eyes widened in shock. “Shit, I had no idea. I’m sorry, Sam.” He apologized, rubbing a hand at the back of his head.

“It’s okay. I get it. Look, Dean, we can talk more tomorrow, but right now I have to make sure that Gabe’s okay, alright?” The younger started walking back to the room, before pausing and smiling. “We’re really lucky to all be safe, aren’t we?” “You’re telling me, Sammy. You’re telling me.” 

-

When Sam returned to Gabriel’s room, the archangel was curled tightly in a ball in the middle of his bed, his head pressed into his knees. “Gabriel? Hey?” The hunter approached the bed, unsure of what to do. The man unraveled, lifting his head up. When Sam looked into his eyes, they were still watery with tears.

_Safe?_

“Safe.” The taller man promised, and clambered on top of the bed to sit next to the archangel. Instantly, Gabriel pressed his body to Sam’s, basically climbing on top of the man. While initially shocked at the movement, the hunter eventually relaxed, and held the archangel close to his chest.

“Safe. Recovery takes different paths, and takes different amounts of time. Breathe. You’re safe.” He soothed, rubbing a hand over Gabriel’s back, his fingers tracing the archangel’s vessel’s spine.

“Safe”, he whispered, into Gabriel’s hair, as Sam gently pulled his fingers through it. “Safe”, he mumbled, burying his head in the archangel’s neck. “Safesafesafe”, he repeated, promising the smaller man. “You’re safe. You’re okay. You’re going to be okay. Breathe.”

“He’s not going to hurt you. Not anymore. I promise.”

“You’re safe, Gabriel.”

Although he would deny ever staying in the archangel’s room long after, Sam couldn’t bear to wake Gabriel up after he had fallen asleep on the larger hunter. So, he decided that one night couldn’t hurt, and that he was simply taking care of a friend.

Right?

Sam didn’t regret staying there – not one bit. Not when Gabriel woke up gasping for breath during the middle of the night, trembling and shaking. Not when the archangel pressed himself into the hunter’s side, listening to the soft murmurs of “safe” until he fell back asleep again.

Not when he woke up, legs and arms tangled, with Gabriel’s head on his chest.

No, he didn’t regret it. But he wasn’t going to mention it either.

Feelings are a funny thing. Especially for a person. You watch them bloom in your chest until they clog your lungs and you can’t breathe because of the flowers in your throat.

Sam thought that his flowers were long dead after Jess, and Ruby, and Eileen, but he could feel them sprouting and twisting around his heart whenever he looked at Gabriel. He couldn’t have that happen.

The archangel was like glass after his experiences with Asmodeus – one wrong move, and he could shatter. It wasn’t fair to Gabriel when he was in this state for Sam to like him, for Sam to want to be with him. That would taking advantage of the fragile state that he was in, and the hunter couldn’t bear doing that.

And so, that’s why as soon as he woke up, he rushed out of the room and back into his own. That’s why he pretended like nothing happened when the archangel came out of his room for breakfast. That’s why when Dean asked if he ever returned to his room after last night’s “incident”, he answered “yeah” nonchalantly, and changed the subject.

That’s why when he watched Dean and Cas interact, wondering why they hadn’t gotten together yet, he finally understood. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i might update more today. who knows. i might love y'all, idk though.


	3. Well, The Shit Hit The Fan, But We Have You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys brainstorm ideas how to overthrow the forces of evil that are plotting against them. They gather resources and allies for the coming battles, and they resurrect an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more sabriel for y'all cuz i love you guys

The following days were used for planning. Mary, Jack, and Dean told them of other-world Michael’s plan to cross over worlds and maybe even use Dean as a vessel to conquer this world. Cas told them how he heard that Lucifer and Sister Jo had taken over heaven, and were in the works of making new angels, and Gabriel wrote down all that he had heard about Asmodeus’s plan to take over.

“We are in a whole load of stinking shit here, aren’t we?” Sam sighed over a lore book. “Apocalypse 2.0.” Dean agreed, flashing a glance at Cas. “We’ve done this before, we can do it again. Team Free Will, right?” The angel reminded the two of them.

“Right. Team Free Will.”

Their first motive was to gather as many allies as they could. Sam tried to get in contact with Rowena – no luck. Ketch was still in the other world, and it was agreed among all the Winchesters that he was not to be trusted.

They called up Jody and the girls, letting them know of the events happening. Their friend promised that she would come to the bunker as soon as possible, letting her residents know that they had the choice of coming with her, but they didn’t have to. Alex, Claire, Patience, and Donna had all given the same answer – they were coming. They were coming to help Sam and Dean, just like how the hunters had helped them in any times of need.

Castiel tried to get any angels to help him – all of them turned away. Demons too. After the death of Crowley, most of their alliances fell to pieces, and Chuck wasn’t showing up any time soon to help them save the world – once again!

It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.

They had the Nephilim to help them, sure, but Jack was barely in control of his powers. Gabriel would take time out of his day to teach the boy how to use them, but he was still struggling, and with one mistake, he could hurt someone, or worse. Until Jack had full control of the powers that he had, then there was no use in putting all their luck on the Nephilim.

That’s when Gabriel mentioned that if he was at full power, he could resurrect people, angels. He just needed a certain spell that was in the bunker to fully resurrect them.

The archangel still wasn’t talking, but he was on the path of recovery. Sam and him had gotten quite good at signing, and could have rapid fire conversations in sign language. Nobody was rushing him to speak – they all understood what he had been through.

The Winchesters and the angels still had a two problems – one, the spell was nowhere to be seen, and two, Gabriel wasn’t going to recover nearly fast enough.

Since he was an archangel, it was possible for him to hold the grace of another angel, and use that grace to heal himself. In fact, he probably would be fully recovered if he just took the grace of one, two angels. But Gabriel aptly refused.

_Nobody’s grace will be taken because of me._ _Nobody’s._

And Sam understood – from what he had heard, Asmodeus had been draining the archangel of his grace, waiting for it to restore to almost full level, then taking it again. A constant process of torture and pain.

So they had to find another way.

Castiel had offered part of his grace, which Gabriel started angrily signing his refusal to.

_NO! No, Cassie, I’m not taking your grace. No way in hell! The fact you’d even suggest that… No._

It wasn’t until one night that Sam had a quite… enlightening dream that he remembered – Gabriel wasn’t just an archangel. There was a pseudonym that he had to take under to keep his identity quiet, a different personal that simply became part of him throughout the years. He was also a god.

Loki, the trickster god.

And while he couldn’t use grace to restore his archangel side, there were other methods to restore his “godly” side. When he brought the idea up to the rest of the residents of the bunker, everyone agreed that it was their best chance. “However, I must let you all know. Gods are more malicious than archangels, meaning that Gabriel’s personality may alter a slight amount if his godly side is the one that is being strengthened.” Cas warned.

“Alter how?” Sam wondered, crossing his arms. “He might be crueler. Angrier. Cheekier. Remember, he’s the trickster god, so that means that he’d be more eager to poke fun at others than he would be if his Gabriel side was prominent.” Castiel explained, to which Gabriel nodded.

_I might say some things that I don’t mean. Be more violent than I normally am._

“Well, this is our best option. Let’s get started.” Dean sighed, getting up from the kitchen table and heading off to look for books on gods.

Human sacrifices were a no go, but animal sacrifices weren’t. Neither was blood sacrifices. Castiel took care of the animal sacrifices, understanding that the Winchesters were uncomfortable performing such rituals.

The sacrifices strengthened Gabriel largely, but still not enough, which was why they were searching in every lore book on the planet to find a solution to get the archangel at full power.

The personality change was what confused Sam, honestly. He still couldn’t wrap his head around it. Gabriel was the same to him – maybe slightly more teasing, but that was it. The god/archangel was probably a bit meaner to Dean and the rest of them, but otherwise, he was just… normal.

Utterly, completely, normal.

“Found something!” Jack exclaimed joyously, driving Sam out of his stupor of thoughts. “What is it?” The taller hunter asked, peering over the nephilim’s shoulders. “In old times, when sacrifices were low, gods could use artifacts… a being of higher power could transfer some of their power… particular spells…”

“Wait, wait, wait. Go back to the part about artifacts.” Sam traced his finger over the words. “Artifacts include Amulet of Hesperus, a hand of God, um… a bunch of other random artifacts… wait… the seal of Solomon! We just got that to open the door to the other world – we still have that right? And I bet we can find some of the artifacts that are listed in here!”

The taller hunter ran off to find the purple amulet while everyone else in the room (Mary, Dean, Jack, Gabriel) went off searching for any of the other artifacts listed in the book.

In the end, they were able to find three other artifacts as well as the spell that they needed if they wanted Gabriel to resurrect people. Sam considered it to be a successful search, as the archangel disappeared into his room for a few hours to drain the power from the artifacts, and when he emerged, he was practically glowing with power.

_We’re almost there. I’m almost back to normal. I just need a little more time and I’ll be back to fully juiced up._

There was just one problem – although his power was almost completely restored, his sanity was not. The name Asmodeus still caused him to tremble, and every now and then, hyperventilate. Loud noises still made him jump, and he flinched away from any sharp items. Whenever Sam and Dean came back from a particularly bad hunt, covered in blood, Gabriel had froze and then ran off to his room, refusing to come out for the rest of the evening.

When Sam finally coaxed the archangel to let him in, he was shaking and collapsed into the hunter’s arms. “You’re safe, I promise,” Sam had said. But Gabriel just shook his head, and pointed at Sam.

“Me?”

The archangel nodded. “I’m… safe?” Sam reassured, while slightly confused.

_Scared me. Saw you hurt._

“Why would you be worried about me being hurt?” He had asked, which, at the time, had not been the right thing to question, because Gabriel launched into a full-fledged rant about how Sam needed to care more about himself, and how idiotically self-sacrificing he was.

Sam couldn’t help but chuckle – they were just like Dean and Castiel now, being utterly frustrated with the other yet seeking comfort in each other.

The point was, Gabriel wasn’t ready to fight yet, despite what he said.

When Sam brought up that point to Dean, his brother agreed with him, but explained that it wouldn’t matter. “I know, Sam, and I hate to say this, but it doesn’t matter that he’s not ready. This is the end of the world – again – and we can’t just let him sit around while the action happens. Our last hunt? We were fighting a werewolf, and a demon came out of nowhere to attack us. There’s not much recuperating we can do. We have to start fighting.”

And just to top everything off, Cas stopped by to mention that he’s been feeling a crackle of power – maybe another rift opening. A rift that would open for Michael and all the other angels from the other world.

Wonderful.

“The beginning of the next apocalypse, with heaven, hell, and just about everyone else against us.” Sam sighed. “Well, you know what they say…” Dean grinned grimly.

“Everyone loves the underdog, right?”

-

It took a total of three months for Gabriel to completely recover. By then, Jody’s crew had joined them in the endless rooms of the bunker, and other-world Michael had started their attacks. Freak storms were in every state, humans being slaughtered left and right. Sam and Dean had gone out on a mission, managing to take out three of Michael’s angels, and bringing Kevin Tran back to the bunker.

The teen had originally fought, saying that he’d never join them, until Castiel gave him all the memories of this world’s Kevin, and the boy had blinked twice before staring at the two hunters. “Sam? Dean?” He had gotten up from his chair, running to hug the two of them. “Yeah, it’s good to have you back, Tran.” Dean had smiled softly, hugging the boy tightly.

Michael had given Dean the offer of being his vessel, saying the whole “One True Vessel” speech once again. The older hunter had outright refused, giving the archangel the middle finger.

They kept a lookout for any angels attempting to go into the past, erasing their parent’s existence, but it seemed like they wouldn’t have to worry about that this time around. They were all thankful about that – time travel wasn’t easy on humans or angels.

It seemed like Jack had developed a slight crush on Claire, which he denied until he was blue in the face. Sam had just chuckled and clapped the Nephilim on the back, saying that he was truly a Winchester. “Repression of feelings until the other has to spell it out for us is the Winchester way.” He sent a pointed face at Dean, who ducked his head, blushing.

Since Gabriel was at full recovery, they could put their final part of their plan into action – resurrection. The first person they decided on was Charlie, knowing that she could help with any and all electrical problem, and they simply missed her.

There was two requirements that the person Gabriel was resurrecting had to fit. 1, they had to be in heaven, and 2, he had to have a picture and a name of the person. Since their beloved redhead fit those requirements, they were set. The archangel had to set up an intricate ritual in a particular room, painting symbols onto the walls. Nobody was allowed to enter whenever he was completing the ritual, as he would be using his true voice, which would promptly shatter a normal human’s eardrums.

On the day of the first ritual, the two brothers and the angel were jumpy with anxiety.

_Chill out, would you? You’re making me nervous._

_Sorry, Gabriel._

“Although I did not know Charlie long, I am quite fond of her. It will be a joy to see her again.” Cas smiled, reminiscing on his time with the girl. Gabriel shooed all the jittery people out of the room, telling them to stay away from the door until he emerged.

_Good luck._

_Luck is for suckers._

Sam chuckled at the archangel, and exited the room, deciding to look through yet another lore book while he waited. Thankfully, it was barely an hour that the telltale bang of the door opened, and Gabriel walked out of the room carrying Charlie.

He gently set her on the floor, with Dean and Sam crowding around her. Charlie’s eyelids fluttered, and a gentle smile filled her face. She opened her eyes to see the two brothers above her. “I’m back, bitches…” Charlie murmured, and Sam’s eyes filled with tears. He pulled her into his arms, burying his face into her red hair.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, Charlie…” He sobbed, holding her tightly. “Hey, Sam, it’s okay. I knew what I was getting into, you know? Besides, this was for Dean.” The lesbian reassured, hugging the taller hunter back. Sam finally released her, allowing his brother’s turn for a hug. “No more sacrificing yourself for me. No matter what.” He muttered gruffly.

“Hey, isn’t the Winchester thing sacrificing themselves for the other? I guess I’m a true Winchester now!” Charlie joked. Dean let go of the girl, and then Castiel pulled her into an embrace. “Whoa, hey, Cas! How have you been?”

“That is… a very complicated question.” The angel chuckled softly, his eyes crinkling softly as he smiled. “It’s good to have you back. Now, let me introduce you to the rest of the crew.”

After introductions and reunions, Gabriel turned to Sam and signed something.

_Was she your girlfriend or something?_

_Girlfriend? God, no. She’s a lesbian. Charlie is like a little sister to us._

“Whoa, my dudes, is that sign language? I’m fluent!” The redhead grinned and started signing rapidly. “Are you kidding me? Now there’s three of them!” Dean complained, although there was a grin on his face.

_So, has Cas and Dean gotten their heads out of their butts and kissed?_   Sam laughed.

_No, I’m afraid not. Although, he isn’t unfamiliar to the concept of Destiel. We came across a play where it was all explained to us._

Charlie’s eyes brightened. _Someone made a play about Supernatural? That’s wicked cool! Also, since Gabriel’s back alive, have you heard of Sabriel?_

Sam’s brow furrowed in confusion. _Sabriel? Sorry, I haven’t heard of it. What is it?_

The redhead smirked mischievously. _I think I’ll let you figure it out for yourself. I can totally see it in your eyes, by the way._

Sam blushed, turning away. _See what? I don’t know what you’re talking about._

Charlie rolled her eyes, exaggerating the length of the next sign. _Suuuuuree._

“Hey. You two. Stop it. Nobody has any idea what you’re saying, but from what it looks like, you’re gossiping and Charlie’s teasing Sam about something.” Dean broke up their conversation, with Sam’s face bright pink and hot with blush.

“Anyway my dudes, as much as I love being here, I know that you wouldn’t have resurrected me unless you were in dire need of help. So, what’s happening? Who’s trying to take over the world now?” Charlie wiggled her eyebrows. “Lucifer, Michael from another world, and a Prince of Hell.” Sam sighed.

“Say what now?”

“Sit down. It’s going to be a long story.”

Once everything had been explained to Charlie, they got back to work looking for things to help them save the world (again), but this time, their moods were a lot lighter and more carefree with the presence of the lively girl. She instantly made friends with Claire, Alex, and Patience, and would gossip about recent news with them. However, out of everyone (other than Cas, Dean, and Sam) Charlie was the best friends with Kevin.

They were like two peas in a pod – two extremely brilliant peas that knew how to save the world and that had gone through way too much shit than they deserved. The two nerds would share references, laughing and giggling as they hacked their way into every camera or mainframe on the face of this earth.

Charlie was a goddamn lifesaver, to everyone.

The second person that they resurrected was Bobby, the old man being pissed and bitter at the fact that they had brought him back.

“It ain’t right!”, he insisted, and yet, he hugged them all tight with tears in his eyes. The addition of their IT people improved everything greatly, and the group was finally starting to be able to see hope, finally starting to see a future.

Maybe, just maybe, they had a chance of winning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHH OKAY. SO I COULDN'T LEAVE CHARLIE OUT OF THIS, AND APPARENTLY THE WRITERS WERE THINKING THE SAME THING. SO THERE YOU GO! SOME SHIPPER CHARLIE FOR YA!
> 
> plez comment and kudos


	4. Only Know You Love Them When You Let Them Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh, more canon divergence! Little old Luci's created the better race of angels, a faster, stronger, race of angels. The Winchesters are in trouble! Also, a bonding sesh between Charlie and Sam. Major angst in this chapter. Mild panic attack/vomiting. B e w a r e.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys did you hear that aviici died today? i'm so sad, his music was so good. also thAnk for yOur LoVEly cOmmeNTs  
> i love y'all so much, you're way too kind to me.

Now, with Sam and Gabriel’s relationship, everything seemed weird. While the two would share a bed one night during a particularly rough nightmare, during the day they would pretend like nothing happened and act completely normal.

The hunter tried to refrain from touching, worried about being too intimate or affectionate. This wasn’t for Gabriel anymore, this was for himself, knowing that the archangel would never feel the same way, and it would hurt less if he tried to not get attached.

The archangel touched _too_ much. At every second that he could, he leaned into Sam’s touch, almost purring like a cat. While he was careful around most people, when the two were just alone, Gabriel refused to refrain from personal contact. He played with the hunter’s hair and danced his fingers across Sam’s arms and drew words onto the man’s chest and back. Gabriel would smirk at everything that the hunter did, signing affectionate nicknames in response.

It hurt worse each day.

The flowers were growing so thick that he was choking on them, with each carefully placed word and hesitant touch that he made.

It doesn’t matter, he tried to tell himself. It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter, it’s stupid. You are in the middle of the apocalypse, you have to suck up your goddamn feelings and save the world.

Eventually, Sam confessed to Charlie, falling on her bed and spilling everything. “Sam, what it sounds like is that he likes you back. I mean, I watch you two every day and it’s pretty clear that he cares about you.”

“But he doesn’t! I know what it’s like when he likes someone, and he doesn’t hold back. All he ever does with me is hold back.” Sam complained, turning his head to look the redhead in the eyes. “That’s not what it sounds like… Sam, it sounds like _you’re_ the one holding back, not him. You say that he’s overly affectionate with his touches, right? That doesn’t seem like holding back, does it? Maybe he’s scared about messing things with you.” Charlie reasoned.

“Messing things up with me? Please. I’m an utter mess, if anything, I’d mess it up with him. Besides, it’s doubtful that he could ever like me.” Sam scoffed, self-hatred coloring his tone. “Whoa, there, buddy, that’s a lot of self-deprecation that you’re expressing there. Give yourself some credit, Sam! You are hella attractive for a dude, you are incredibly romantic and sensitive, and you care about everything. Honestly, I think you should go for it.” Charlie encouraged.

“Ugh. I’m probably just overthinking this too much. He probably meant nothing by the touches, and I’m just freaking out because of nothing.” Sam groaned, rubbing his face with his hands. “Honey, you are most definitely overthinking this, but not in the way you think. Sam, you’re a thirty five-year-old man who has saved the world on multiple occasions, and you’re gushing over this guy like a teenage crush.”

Sam let out a soft chuckle which evolved into a full out belly laugh. “This-is-so-ridiculous…” He huffed out between laughs. “You’re telling me!” Charlie giggled, laying her head back. “God, Charlie, I needed that laugh. I’ll try to stop overthinking it too much, and make a move.” Sam smiled at the redhead, wiping the tears of mirth from his eyes.

“Finally a Winchester gets his head out of his ass! Now all I need is for Dean and Jack to have a confession session with me, for them to finally ask their respective crushes out.” Charlie exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. “Actually, Cas has flat out told Dean that he loves him, and Dean has been still like “well, hmm, does he like me or not?” Honestly, if you compare us, I’m not the one who needs relationship help.” Sam sighed.

“You’re kidding me. Cas actually did? Well fuck me, who needs Dean to have a confession session. I’m going to pull our favorite angel in here for him to get some confidence to ask Dean out on a date.” Charlie joked, sighing.

“You do that!” Sam insisted, sitting up on the bed and giving the redhead a hug. “But in all honesty, thank you.” “No problem, Sammy.” Charlie slapped his butt with a cheeky smirk. “Now go get your man!”

* * *

 

Asking someone out is way harder than it looks.

It has to be perfect. The delivery, how you look, everything. And he tried, he really did, but Sam kept freaking out. There was always the impending no, and if Gabriel said no, then everything would change.

And he wasn’t ready for that sort of change.

After a week of attempts, Sam gave up, returning to square one of overthinking and puzzling. Charlie sympathized with the man, giving him a soft smile.

To be fair, Cas and Dean were no better. They continued with their “married couple” routine, eyefucking across the room while bitching to each other about how mad they were with the other. Their lack of progress reassured Sam, though, knowing that it was okay to take it slow if he wanted to.

All relationship problems aside, they needed to focus on the problem at hand.

They couldn’t go out anymore, being attacked left and right by angels and demons. There was a new race of angels, created by Lucifer. They were stronger, faster, better. Emotions had no meaning to them – they would kill quick and mercilessly.

One short jab of the blade was all that was needed, and then they were gone.

There was something different about their wings that Gabriel and Castiel had commented on. Something about the shape, something about the color. Sam didn’t know – all that he knew is that he had to watch out for these angels, as he could be killed in an instant.

So they were careful. They stayed in the bunker unless they absolutely had to go outside. They wouldn’t go anywhere without weapons. They backed down from a fight if they knew they couldn’t win it.

They tried to save as many humans as they could, and they realized that they couldn’t save everyone. That was the hardest realization that they had to come to, knowing that innocents could die simply because of the fucked up creature in the world. Innocents would die because they couldn’t be there in time, because so many goddamn reasons. Because they had to be careful now.

But then, one day, they fucked everything up.

Everything.

The group had run out of groceries and desperately needed food. So, Sam, Dean, and Cas went on a food run, buying everything in bulk as quickly as they could. But of course, _of course_ , angels have to show up at the freaking grocery store.

They were in the produce section when a person flickered in front of Sam, pinning him to the shelves and holding an angel blade to his throat. “Dean? Cas?” He yelled, pushing the angel back and pulling out his own respective blade.

Sparks flew as the metal crashed against each other. Just as the knife was about to stab him, Sam threw a ham in front of the blade, so it speared a freshly cooked pig instead of him. The time that it took for the female angel to yank off the ham gave Sam enough time to flee and rejoin with Dean and Cas, who were also fighting angels.

“There are too many of them.” Castiel huffed, stabbing one of them in the back. “With each that we kill, two more appear.” Just as he said, two other angels flickered into view, charging at the three. He spun, slicing one in the throat as Dean slashed through the other.

No matter how much they stabbed or killed, the angels kept appearing, and the hunters were tiring. When one of the blades caught Dean on the arms, slicing into his soft flesh, Cas got distracted and went to inspect the wound. “Dean!” He called, running to check on the hunter.

Just as the angel reached Dean another angel came up behind Castiel, preparing to stab their friend in the back. “No!” The older hunter screamed, shoving aside Cas, taking full hit of the blade into his side. It sliced into his ribcage, blood spilling out as he fell to the floor. Sam caught his brother, muttering “Nonononono…”

“Dean!” Cas ran to the man, pressing his hands against the hunter’s side and using his grace to heal him. Just as Dean started to recover, Castiel was yanked away by one of the other angels, and the two disappeared, leaving two wounded brothers in the produce section of the grocery store.

“They got Cas…” Dean mumbled, clutching onto Sam’s jacket, staring out into plain space. “Sammy, they got Cas. They got Cas and they’re gonna hurt him or kill him or…” he babbled on, sinking his head into his hands. “I know Dean, but we gotta go. We gotta go before anyone else comes. We have to go patch you up.” Sam lifted his brother up, collecting their groceries and leaving the grocery store (all the other humans that had been in there had been smited, so they didn’t need to pay).

Dean was out of it for the entire evening, not saying a word except for “They got Cas.” He sat, staring off into space numbly as Sam stitched the cut in his side up. It would heal pretty quickly thanks to Cas’s grace, but it was still better if the older hunter stayed out of hunts for the next few weeks.

Their mother went to see Dean in his room, going to comfort him. She left with her eyes red, telling them all that they _needed_ to get Cas back.

Everyone already knew what Castiel meant to Dean.

Gabriel had spent an hour fussing over Sam and his injuries, worrying about his little brother. “I don’t think they’re going to kill him. I think they’re going to torture him until he breaks, and then take those shattered pieces of his sanity and mold it into something of their design to use against us.” He confessed, running his hands through his hair. “And that’s what I’m utterly terrified of.”

* * *

 

The next few weeks were hard – Dean barely left his room, despite what anyone said. Sam was still pining over Gabriel, but it felt _wrong_ to want to ask him out now. Not when Cas was gone, not when Dean was mourning over the loss of his friend.

It was a Thursday that Sam convinced his brother to come out of his room and to go out again. He was silent the entire car ride, refusing to turn on any music.

“You love him, don’t you.” Sam broke the silence by saying the question that was wondered by everyone that saw the two men together.

Dean turned to look at his brother, his green eyes watery and red. “Yes,” he rasped. “Yes, and I was too much of a goddamn coward to say it. Ever. God, why didn’t I say it? Why didn’t I see it? He flat out told me that he- that he-”

He couldn’t continue, and pulled over on the road, choking on his own tears. This was the first time that Sam had ever seen his brother actually cry, actually break down because of a person. He pulled his brother into his arms, and allowed Dean to sob into his chest.

“Why- didn’t- I- ever- say- anything?” He screamed during sobs. “Why- couldn’t- I- ever- say- anything?” Dean’s entire body trembled as he clutched to his younger brother. He let go abruptly, and leant his head out the window, his body convulsed as he vomited.

“I’m- sorry…” Dean hiccupped, rubbing his face. “I’d give anything for another chance, Sammy. I just got him back. I can’t do this without him. I can’t _oh god_ I can’t.” His brother was full out hyperventilating at this point, with a death grip on Sam’s hands. “Ican’tIcan’tIcan’tIcan’t…” The words came out jerky and rushed as he gasped for breath.

“Dean!” Sam yelled, shocking the older. “Dean, you have to calm down. You’re having a panic attack, you have to breathe otherwise you’re going to make yourself pass out. Look, you’re going to have to follow my breaths, okay?” He exaggerated his breathing so his brother could follow it until he calmed down.

It took a while, but eventually, Dean’s breathing returned to normal, and his body stopped shaking so hard that it looked like he was vibrating.

“Good, good.” Sam smiled at the shaky man, who scrubbed at his face to clear off any tears. “Let’s never speak of this again, okay?” Dean grumbled, getting situated back in his seat. “Okay, but when we save Cas, you’re totally asking him out, alright?” The younger teased gently, to which his brother scowled at. “Duh.”

They drove for a little while more before turning back and heading to the bunker, not actually purchasing anything while they were out driving. That doesn’t matter though, because Dean finally realized his feelings after nine-fucking-years. Why it took him so goddamn long, Sam will never know.

All they had to do was rescue the angel, and then Dean and Cas could have their happily-ever-after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wh oo ps sorry not sorry  
> but don't worry you'll get an update tmrw or later today depending on how lazy i am  
> like seriously it takes me a solid hour to add all the extra space and enters and the italicization i s t g  
> so. much. time.  
> anyway you'll hate me MORE later ;)


	5. A Fleeting Glimpse In Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hMMMMMMM IT'S THE  
> F I N A L S H O W D O W N

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all gonna love/hate me for this chapter  
> im real sorry it's so short :(   
> of course i choose my bday party's date for the final showdown lol  
> also, I won't be back until thurday (School Trip) so if you comment on late sunday - thursday, then y'all get your responses on friday.  
> anyway i love you guys so much!! you're so sweet

The final showdown would be on May 5th – Lucifer and Michael were said to appear at a cemetery in Illinois, determined to fight for possession of the earth. Asmodeus was sure to show with a fight as large as this, and so of course, the Winchesters had to be there.

Their plan was kind of messy – sneak attack. Gabriel was to stay back and to perform a spell that would lock Michael and Lucifer into their vessels, weakening them greatly. Jack and Dean were to go after Asmodeus, knocking out demons. Sam, Charlie, and Claire were to go after the other-world angels, and Jody, Mary, Alex, Donna were to go after Lucifer’s angels. Kevin was to stay back and help perform spells with Bobby and Gabriel that would turn the fight in their favor.

They secretly teleported to the Chicago cemetery, hiding out all around, waiting for the three separate parties to arrive. Michael was the first to come, leading his army of angels with a scream of rage. Hundreds of angels stood behind him, each painted with the crest of Michael.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are, Lucifer, you coward!” He hollered, brandishing his sword. As if on cue, Lucifer and his angels flickered into sight with a smirk. If one had thought that Michael’s army looked impressive, they would have been astounded by Lucifer’s. Thousands and thousands of angels armed and ready to fight, each wearing the same armored uniform. Some sat upon horses, some carried flags, but there was one thing that they all had in common – a blank look of pure rage.

And their leader, Lucifer’s second in command, looked quite familiar… Black hair, blue eyes…

Castiel.

Claire uttered a soft “no”, and attempted to urge forward to see Castiel. It took both Charlie and Sam to hold her back. “We can’t lose the element of surprise.” He whispered to her as she went limp in their arms.

“Mind if I join y’all?”

Asmodeus with his demons appeared, hellhounds at every corner of the army, growling and snarling as their prince chuckled. “Now, this changes the board up a bit, doesn’t it?”

Lucifer looked at the two parties, smirk still plastered to his face. “Well? What are we waiting for? I have great plans for the world when total control is mine.” Michael nodded, and his army let out a cry, before charging ahead. The other two armies followed, swords clashing on swords.

Each section of their team snuck in, murdering people from the inside. Slowly, demons and angels dropped down like flies as the Winchester sliced and diced and cut their way through each army.

It wasn’t until Dean got to the front lines from slaughtering demons that he noticed Castiel leading Lucifer’s army. Suddenly, he wasn’t focusing on his task at hand, and sliced through anyone and anything that stood in the way of him and his angel. He vaulted over bodies, stabbing left and right until he reached Cas.

Castiel turned to him, with a look of non-recognition on his face. He charged towards Dean, their swords colliding as they fought through the graveyard. “Cas, Cas it’s _me._ It’s me. It’s Dean. Cas!” The hunter pleaded as he nicked the angel with his sword.

The blue-eyed angel paused for a moment, touching his wound with his fingers, and pulling his hand back to look at the blood. And then he was running again, twice as fast, fighting twice as hard with Dean. Whatever they had done to their friend, it was full out controlling him if he really truly wanted to kill Dean.

“Oh, Deano, don’t you like the new edition to my army? I learned a few tactics from Naomi.” Lucifer called over the piles of bodies, simultaneously slicing someone’s throat. Sam watched his brother’s eyes harden, motivation restored, and he fought back just as hard.

With every move, with every strike that Castiel made, Dean had one to counter it. But Castiel was truly what an angel should be – smarter, faster, and always one step ahead. Soon enough, the hunter found himself cornered by his angel back into a grave.

“Any last words?” He hissed, brandishing his knife at Dean’s throat. Sam watched his brother, knowing his next move. “Actually, yes.”

“I love you.” Dean looked at Cas straight in the eyes for it, no hesitation, no sarcasm. A flat-out statement. And sure enough, the angel clutched at his head, not knowing what to do.

“NO!” The scream was ripped from his lips, and Cas dropped his knife, instead launching on Dean and kissing him so hard that the hunter fell backward. “I love you,” the angel sobbed. “I love you, Dean.”

He attacked the hunter’s face with kisses, viciously making out with Dean. “As cute as that is, we’re trying to save the world here!” Sam yelled at the two of them, sliding under a hellhound and shoving his knife into its stomach, the blood spilling out on his face and all over his clothes.

The two got up, now fighting together instead of against each other, taking out masses of angels and demons. Back to back, they fought ruthlessly with no mercy.

Lucifer had launched himself upon Michael, the two sparring viciously, jumping over and ducking behind stone and bodies. Asmodeus was nowhere to be seen, as the majority of his demon army was taken out – and that’s when Charlie screamed: “SAM LOOK OUT!”

He felt a piercing pain in his side, and fell to the grass, staring up at Asmodeus who smirked at him “Surprise.”

The last thing that he heard before utter darkness was a heart-wrenching “NO!”, and somebody’s scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ehehehehehehe  
> EHEHEHEHE  
> I A M A M O N S T E R  
> okay but seriously comment what you think  
> did you cry  
> laugh  
> get extremely weirded out that you microwaved your computer  
> also! Destiel! Yes!  
> also! two more chapters left! yay!


	6. And I Scream, And Yet It Falls On Deaf Ears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam has been captured and taken to Asmodeus's dungeon. The Prince of Hell tortures the hunter for days on end. Warning, GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF TORTURE.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i heard y'all wanted an update? i got my computer back after my tripppppppppppppppppp! also  
> T HA N K Y O U GU YS F O R Y O UR K I N D M E SS A G ES  
> also if you get triggered by this sort of thing, notes at the end will give a brief description of the chapter

When he woke up, he was in chains.

The air around him was dark and reeked of blood, vomit, and human waste. He was in a cell, he was sure of it, but there was no bars surrounding him. Just grimy walls and a dirt floor.

When Sam’s memory recollected, he panicked, scrambling off his feet. He pounded at the walls of the cell, trying to break out of this tiny, enclosed, room. His walls refused to budge.

Sam fell back down, huffing for breath. Well, what did he know? He was in Asmodeus’s lair, most likely in hell. He was most likely enduring some sort of torture. He was most likely not going to be able to get out of there alive.

“Well, you know what? I’ve dealt with torture from anyone and everyone. So go ahead.” Sam dared the empty cell, crossing his arms in defiance. “Try me.”

Maybe he was being prideful. All Sam wanted was to show Asmodeus that he wasn’t afraid of the demon, and whatever silly party tricks that he had up his sleeve wouldn’t work.

The first week (or what seemed to be a week, he didn’t know because there was no way of telling time in his cell) the Prince of Hell attempted the tactic of isolation and starvation.

Once a day, a latch would open, and a glass of water was pushed through it. That was it, just for a week. Water. Barely enough to keep him alive. By the end of the week, Sam could barely stand - every part of him was aching with hunger. That’s when Asmodeus employed the element of torture. He had apparently gotten tired with just letting Sam rot, and decided to make use of his new little toy. Torture from Lucifer was nothing compared to what Asmodeus had in mind.

The Prince of Hell first broke every bone in Sam’s body, and then re-healed them, just to break them again. He dragged a knife across the hunter’s body, smearing each wound with salt. Sam may not be a demon, but that didn’t mean that salt didn’t hurt like hell on an open wound. Asmodeus would slice off every finger and toe, just to force the hunter feel the pain of re-growing them again.

He would kick and punch and throw Sam around like he was a ragdoll. Asmodeus watched and laughed as the hunter screamed, saying that he wouldn’t stich up his lips because the sound of Sam’s pain was like music to his ears. Sam had told him that he was a sick bastard, and the Prince of Hell stomped on his face.

Asmodeus once cut open a demon for the hunter. He sliced the creature open with a knife, throwing it in his cell. “Eat it,” he cackled. “Drink the blood like you used to. Let it run down your throat, and feel the power crackling within you…”

Sam refused.

The man dragged the hunter out of his cell, forcing the blood down his throat. Not a drop was wasted. Each gallon splashed into his mouth, each tasting better than the last. “Yes, Sammy. Good…” Asmodeus crooned, stroking his hair.

Sam nearly vomited at that, but the Prince of Hell wouldn’t let him, the Prince of Hell kept pouring the red liquid down, down, down.

He choked on it and sobbed, fingers clenched into palms, making half-moon crescents in the flesh. “Stop,” Sam burbled. “Please,” he begged as the man’s gentle stroking on his hair turned into a harsh pull. “Don’t beg, Sam. Drink.” Asmodeus snarled, yanking his head back in place.

After the ordeal, he left the hunter alone his cell, curled up and crying softly. He had been done, he had been done with all of it. He had been clean. Sam fisted his hair, pulling his body into a ball. His head pounded as he choked out tears.

His powers returned.

They were useless against Asmodeus.

* * *

 

The blood wasn’t the worst of it.

The worst part, the worst part of it all, was when Asmodeus started messing with his head. Sam had been in his cell, bruised and bloody when he saw his brother through the new window that had been put in his cell.

“Dean… Dean?” Sam yelled, awkwardly pushing himself to his feet. “Dean!” His brother turned, yanking at the door, trying to unlock his cell. “Sam! I’m going to get you out!”  And somehow, the jiggling and pulling at the prison door worked. Whatever the older hunter used to open the door, it unlocked it, and he was free. Sam was going to be free.

No more Asmodeus, no more torture, no more of any of it. But that’s when Sam looked at Dean _really_ in the eyes. The green was all wrong, empty and dull. It was a lifeless color, and his brother faded in his hands. That’s when he realized that it was just a sick illusion to get him to believe that he was going to be free, but he was in his cell the entire time.

Weekly, Sam would be rescued, only for the person not to be real, or for the person to be killed, or for the person to scream at him and tell him horrible things.

His head hurt so badly. He just wanted it to stop, he wanted it to all stop. Whenever anyone came to the door of his cage, Sam just curled into a ball, hiding his face. He didn’t want to see them again, he didn’t want to have to watch his friends as puppets of Asmodeus’s doing.

Sam’s hope had shriveled up long ago.

He prayed to Gabriel, begging for the archangel to find him, begging for someone, anyone to find him. But nobody came. Nobody came, nobody heard his screaming, his sounds of utter pain. One particular day, when Asmodeus was enraged about something and decided to take his anger out on the hunter, the Prince of Hell dragged his nails across Sam’s face, drawing blood from the skin there.

Sam gasped out in pain, clutching his face as he staggered to the floor, his hands wet with blood. “You’re mine, boy.” The demon’s breath reeked, causing the hunter to gag. “You ain’t never getting out of here. Your precious archangel may have escaped, but you? You’ll never escape. You know why, boy?” Sam stayed silent, curled up in the fetal position. Asmodeus kicked the man in the stomach, yelling “You’ll answer me when I talk to you!”

“Why…” Sam rasped, slowly opening his watery eyes. “Because, boy, nobody wants to rescue you. Dean and Cassie are all happy up in wherever they’re hiding out at. They don’t need you. Nobody ever needed you, _the freak_. And you know it. You try to deny it, don’t you, but deep inside, there’s that niggling feeling of loneliness, of everybody hating you. They’re never coming for you, because they are happy that you are gone. They’re rejoicing, Sam!” The Prince of Hell chuckled, staring at the bloody man in front of him.

“Sam Winchester, the boy king! Born to be a vessel of Lucifer, doomed from the very start. All you ever wanted to be was normal, and look where that got you… Sucking demon blood like it was your mother’s milk. You still do it!” Asmodeus proclaimed, smirking. “Stop… Please…” Sam muttered, trying to block his ears. The words still rang in them. “You’re worthless, Sam Winchester. Worthless. Nobody will ever love you, nobody will ever come for you. Worthless.” He spat out the word, a glob of saliva landing on the hunter’s face.

Worthlessworthlessworthless. The words echoed in Sam’s head, each stabbing tiny knives into his brain as he squeezed his eyes shut, tears rolling down his face. He gulped in horror, knowing that the words were true, they were true, nobody was every going to come for him.

The Prince of Hell leaned down to stroke Sam’s back, the man backing away as quick as he could. “Get… Away… From… Me…” The hunter gasped, hugging himself close. “Please…” He begged, trembling with fear. “Don’t speak to me like that. You’re mine, boy, don’t you forget that.” Asmodeus towered over Sam, striking his face.

“M’lord… I have those papers you asked for?” Sam had never been more grateful in his life for a demon, no matter how evil those creatures may be. “I’ll get back to you later…” Asmodeus promised, dragging the hunter back to his cell. He locked Sam’s chains on his wrist, giving the man’s face one last caress before locking the door to the prison door. The hunter vomited as soon as he had left the cell, body quaking as he choked up bile.

 “Now, what was it that you had to interrupt me for?” Asmodeus turned to the lesser level demon, who awkwardly held out papers that the Prince of Hell took suspiciously. “Um, they’re some documents that you wanted? I don’t really, know, you didn’t give us too much information.” The demon started rambling until his ruler held out a hand, gesturing for him to be silent.

After careful examination, Asmodeus grinned wickedly at the papers. “Oh, these papers! Yes, yes, thank you…” The two walked out of the room, leaving the quivering hunter in the dark of his cell.

* * *

 

The day that the screaming started, Sam was sure that he had gone crazy. Asmodeus had finally cracked his sanity, shattering it like glass, and now all he could hear was the wretched screams of the tortured. It went on for what seemed ages, the hunter sticking his fingers so deep in his ears that there was blood on the tips of them when he pulled them out.

Finally, everything went dead silent. The screaming was no more. Sam uncurled from his position, staring forward. Something was about to happen, he was sure of it. Wisps of power tingled in the air, dancing across his skin, soothing the bruises and scrapes.

The doors flew open to reveal Gabriel, standing with full power, full glory. The shadow of his wings were reflected on the wall behind him, and the archangel was glowing with strength. His eyes were the brightest – their color was molten gold and filled with rage.

This was nothing like the man that he had left in midst of battle – this was a being of pure power, one that would kill without thought, one that was to be utterly feared. The perfect combination between Loki and Gabriel.

Wow, Sam thought, Asmodeus _really_ went all out this time.

The archangel approached his cage, not hesitating to melt the bars of the cage. Instead of running out, though, Sam simply crossed his arms and glared at the figure in front of him. “Nice one, Asmodeus. You going to go that far into messing with my brain? Well, guess what. It won’t work.” He knew that those words were going to get him trouble, but this time, he didn’t care. Sam was miserable and grumpy and just wanted it all to be over, and the last thing that he wanted to see was a distorted version of his love.

“It’s not an illusion, Sam.” Gabriel’s voice was rich and full, his True Voice sounding through. “It’s really me.” The hunter turned his back, ducking his head into his arms. “Yeah right,” he scoffed, his voice muffled. “That’s what they all say.” Everything hurt and all he wanted to do was sleep. After he refused them, they would normally disappear.

Why wouldn’t Gabriel disappear?

Was Asmodeus just going to continue this visage to torture him in the worst way possible? Well, he wouldn’t put it past the Prince of Hell to do that, but still. He normally got bored with trying to convince Sam of the reality of his rescue.

“Sam. I promise. It’s me.” The archangel reached out, gently touching Sam on the shoulder. “You’re safe.”

_Promise._

There was no way that Asmodeus could have known about the sign language. No way. Meaning that… “Gabriel?” Sam blinked tearfully at the archangel, his fingers extending to touch his face. “Yeah, Sammy. I promise. It’s really me.”

“Gabriel!” Sam threw his arms around the man, pulling him close to his chest as he let out half-sobs into Gabriel’s hair. “You- you shouldn’t be here- you…” he babbled, searching around with anxiety. “As-asmo-” Sam stumbled over the name, panicking. “He’s going to- he’s going to-”

Gabriel put a gentle finger over the hunter’s lips, shushing him. “No. No, Asmodeus is dead. I made sure of that.” His eyes flashed again slightly. “No-no he’s going to get you, just like he did and then-” Sam rambled, his breath coming out in short huffs. “Hey, hey, hey. I’m going to put you to sleep right now, okay? Otherwise, you’re going to hyperventilate, Sammy.” The hunter hesitantly nodded, and with a quick tap of Gabriel’s fingers, the world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> brief description:  
> Sam was captured by Asmodeus, who enforces different forms of torture to break the hunter. The Prince of Hell forces him to drink demon blood, leading to the return of his powers, which are useless against him. He plays with Sam's mind and even gets slightly rapey, but doesn't get to the point where he can do anything. At the very end, Gabriel/Loki breaks in and rescues the hunter.
> 
> hUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH  
> MORE CANON DIVERGENCE  
> WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTTTTTT  
> ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER  
> TIME TO DIE  
> COMMENT, KUDOS, DO WHATEVER  
> I LOVE Y'ALL


	7. If Love Is A Friendship That Caught Fire, Then Our Friendship Is A Bonfire In My Heart. Care To Roast Marshmallows Over It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY FUUUUUCK WE MADE IT TO 100 KUDOS? AND THE END? HA! FUCK YEAH! I'M SO FUCKING PUMPED Y'ALL!

When Sam woke up, he was in his own bed. Back at home in the bunker. The cotton sheets felt like the softest thing in the world, as if he was floating on a cloud. A warm glow of light from a lamp reflected around his room.

He stretched, yawning, and looked over at the clock. 10:21 AM. What day was it?

Sam pushed the sheets off his legs, sliding out of bed. He was wearing different clothes than before – sweatpants and a plaid shirt – had somebody changed him?

He stumbled into the bathroom, splashing his face with water. It was so odd to see himself in a mirror after everything that had happened. His eyes were bloodshot and had heavy bags under them, with scars, cuts, and fading bruises littering his face. He gingerly touched the Band-Aid on his forehead, as if it was going to disappear and he would be back in the dungeon.

“Safe,” Sam whispered, shocked at the sound of his own voice. It was raspy and unclear, sounding oddly distorted. “Safe.” He uttered louder, glaring at his reflection as he gripped the sink tightly.

“Safe…” The hunter mumbled once more, before letting go of the porcelain and heading out the door of his bathroom. Sam walked out the door of his room, just to be shocked by his entire family and friends.

The first to jump on him was Charlie, her eyes watering with tears. “I’m so sorry, Sam! I should have let you know in time! It should have been me that was captured, not you…” Her skinny arms wrapped around him, hugging the hunter tightly. “Hey, hey, Charlie. It wasn’t your fault. It’s not your duty to be 100 percent aware of me, 24/7. _Especially_ when we are in battle. And don’t you dare say that it should have been you.” He soothed, stroking her hair.

Next up was Dean, who pulled him into a massive bear hug. “It’s good to have you back, Sammy.” His voice trembled as he spoke, revealing the tearfulness he was trying to hide. Dean’s eyes and tone told him more than the man would say, but Sam didn’t comment on it. He just hugged his brother back.

Next came Castiel, then Jack, then Mary, then Claire, then Jody, then everybody else. Each greeting came with a breathless embrace and a few shed tears. They all reminded him of how many people in his life cared about him, how many people wanted him there. Every hug, every remark chased Asmodeus’s nasty words away.

Gabriel came last, the shorter man tugging Sam into a hug that took his breath away. They probably stood there for a good minute or so, the archangel determined to make sure that this was real, that Sam was safe, maybe more for himself than for the hunter. When he released Sam, Gabriel smiled, uttering, “Fuck, I missed you.”

“Hey, you can talk now!” Sam exclaimed, taking the archangel’s hand in secret and squeezing it behind everybody else’s backs. “Yup. Dean’s been constantly telling me to become mute again.” Gabriel nodded, sending a silent squeeze back. “Dean!” Sam scolded. “That’s not nice.”

“Well, all the asshole does is talk! Chatter, chatter, chatter. I have the right to tell him to shut his gabber once or twice.” His brother protested, but there were smiles on all of their faces.

“Well, Sammy, what are you going to do now?” Gabriel asked, casually slinging his arm around Sam’s neck. The archangel had to stand on his tiptoes to accomplish such a feat and looked incredibly awkward next to his friend. “Hey – what’s wrong?” His voice dropped to a concerned tone upon noticing the tears in the taller hunter’s eyes.

“Nothing, Gabe. I’m home.”

* * *

 

After Sam’s rescue, everything was explained. He had been in Asmodeus’s dungeon for two months, and a lot had happened in that time. Apparently, right after he was captured and taken away, Gabriel’s magic had swept the field, knocking out every angel, demon, and Winchester there. The only two still standing were Lucifer and Michael, who were so shocked by their brother’s arrival that they didn’t do anything, giving a chance for Gabriel’s other spell to kick in.

The plan had been to age down the two brothers, forcing them into a human state. They would relive their childhood together, and when they died, they would resume their role in heaven.

Well, for once in their lives, the plan worked. After his elaborate entrance, Gabriel’s spells started working, de-aging his brothers, and humanizing them. Once he was left with two babbling toddlers, the archangel was been sure to send the two children to a loving home for their second chance.

His powers didn’t go away this time around.

At first, he despised them. They were a disgusting reminder of the worst times in his life, and all he wanted was to get rid of them. All he wanted was for them was to disappear, and for him to be slightly more normal again.

He only had mildly powerful telekinesis and the very rare vision, but it didn’t matter. They were still _there_ , still underneath his skin and turning his soul black with ash.

Sam didn’t tell anyone about them – the two heavenly beings already knew by the enlargement of the “stain on his soul”. Gabriel was the first to pull the younger hunter aside and to question about it.

“I know this question sounds really weird, but have you been chugging demon juice lately?” The two men were hiding in an empty hallway while the majority of their family was laughing in the dining room, playing some sort of game. “No. Well, yes, but not on purpose.” Sam muttered, the Prince of Hell’s laughter ringing in his ears.

“Wait. I’m confused. You have or you haven’t? How do you not drink that stuff on purpose?” Gabriel crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation. Sam’s eyes darted back and forth before whispering “Asmodeus. When I was in the dungeon with Asmodeus, that was a- a- torture m-method.” He stumbled over the last words, bile rising in his throat.

“Fuck,” the archangel swore, running his hands through his hair. “ _Fuck_ ,” he stressed. “Yeah,” Sam mumbled, playing with his hands. “Did the powers come back?” Gabriel questioned, furrowing his brow. “What powers?” The hunter played nonchalant, praying that the archangel wouldn’t pick up on his bullshit.

“You know which fucking powers, Sam Winchester, so don’t you try and feed me bullshit lies.” Gabriel’s voice was hard and angry, a tone he had never had directed at him before. To be completely honest, it slightly scared him. “Did. The. Powers. Come. Back.” The archangel gave him a steely glare as if daring Sam to lie again.

“Yes,” the hunter sighed, giving in. “Yes, they came back. They came back and I don’t know what the fuck to do, because the last time I had this sort of thing, I was the freak. Everyone who I cared about hated me. I had _nothing._ ” Sam grit out, returning Gabriel’s gaze.

“Well, it isn’t last time, kiddo. You’re going to be fine. I promise.” Suddenly, the archangel’s harsh demeanor melted into concern and care, and the shorter man pulled the hunter into his arms. “I won’t let the shit that happened last time happen again.” Gabriel mumbled against Sam’s chest, hugging him tightly. “Thank you,” the hunter exhaled, leaning into the archangel. “Thank you.”

Gabriel taught Sam how to control his powers, how to use them properly. He helped the taller man lose his addiction to demon blood, and most of all; he helped the hunter not hate the powers.

He helped Sam not utterly despise a part of him that would be there for the rest of his life.

And for that, the hunter would be forever grateful.

As for Castiel finding out, Cas took a month before questioning the hunter about it. It only took a few short words this time around – “Asmodeus”, “Torture method”, and “Powers” did the job. The angel broke the news to Dean, who explained it to the rest of them.

And this time around, it was different.

This time around, Gabriel was right. None of his family hated him – in fact, they understood, crazily enough. They were thankful for his abilities on hunts. They used him for betting on sports games. Best of all – they didn’t think a thing differently about him, just because of this ability that had been forced upon him.

Also, Sam and Gabriel did actually get together in the end. It took them a good few months to get their shit together, but when they did, it was on a late Saturday morning.

“What should we make, pancakes or waffles?” Sam rummaged through the pantry, searching for the mix. “Pancakes. And homemade ones, none of that nasty mix shit.” Gabriel knocked the box of pancake mix out of Sam’s hands, snapping his fingers so all the ingredients to make homemade pancakes appeared. “Remember, we need to fatten you up! You’re still underweight after your times with Colonel Sanders.” His fingers trembled slightly as they swiped over the hunter’s ribs, revealing the bone’s prominence.

“Fine. But it’s going to take way longer.” Sam reminded him, pulling out a metal bowl. He measured and poured certain amounts of flour, cracked eggs, and emptied the milk carton into the mix. It was when he got to adding the chocolate chips that a cloud of flour knocked him flat out in the face.

“What the fuck?” He sputtered, wiping the white grain from his eyes. “Flour war?” Gabriel offered, testing a handful of flour with a smirk. “Oh, you’re fucking on.” Sam grinned, grabbing the bag and dumping it on the archangel’s head.

Gabriel coughed in shock, the man covered in white. “I’ll get you back for that!” He hollered, conjuring up a new bag of flour and chased Sam around the kitchen, giggling and occasionally throwing handfuls of flour. The archangel accidentally tripped over something – a fork? a spoon? Nobody would ever know – and fell on his face.

“Gabriel!” Sam turned around, helping the shorter man up, only to have a package of flour to be dumped on him. “You filthy, little…” He started, but trailed off after noticing how close they were. Nose to nose, any closer they would be kissing.

Since when had Gabriel had such gold eyes? He never noticed it before, but the archangel had the color eyes of pyrite, fool’s gold. Sam inwardly chuckled at that – the fool with fool’s gold eyes. The archangel’s breath danced across his face, and the hunter shivered, whether from the chill or from being majorly turned on, one would never know.

“Has anybody told you that you have the prettiest eyes?” Sam mumbled, his own flickering down to his feet. “I think you might be the first.” Gabriel smiled softly, pressing himself as close to the hunter as he could without kissing him. “Shame. They truly are gorgeous.”

“Are we just going to stand here awkwardly, with you complimenting my eyes, or are we going to make out like we should have two months ago?”

Sam crushed his lips onto Gabriel’s, his hands gripping the archangel’s waist, hands, hair. The hunter couldn’t find just one place to rest his hands on, so he caressed every part of his lover. He pushed Gabriel back to the counter, hoisting his ass up onto the marble, viciously making out.

Sam wanted to kiss every part, wanted to mark every open spot on Gabriel’s skin as his. “Mine,” he growled into the archangel’s neck. “Mineminemine…” The hunter whispered into each crevice of his lover’s face, promising the world to Gabriel.

“Oh, the other two lovers pulled their head out of their asses and are humping on the kitchen counter. What else is new?” Jody groaned into her coffee, rubbing the sleep crust out of her eyes. “I better tell the news to Charlie.”

The two awkwardly pulled apart, and kept the rest of their baking experience considerably PG, only sneaking kisses here and there. The hour that they spent in Sam’s room after, was definitely not PG in any way, shape, or form.

In some ways, they were like Cas and Dean, and in other ways, they were the complete opposite. They were similar in reasons why they fought, and the ways that they loved. The Winchesters and the angels both loved passionately, with all their heart and being. This would lead to them being self-sacrificing for the other, and their romantic partner would get frustrated, as they didn’t see their own self-worth.

But, they differed in movement around each other. Gabriel loved to constantly be touching his lover, whether from pulling at his hair to cuddling into his chest, Sam would never be left alone. And he liked it that way. Dean, however, was more restraining on gestures of affection in public. Originally it had caused a strain on their relationship until he confessed that he was still scared of getting called out because of his sexuality.

Castiel understood and respected the hunter’s boundaries whenever in public, and they stuck to secretly holding hands.

Both relationships bickered about everything. It was just their way of showing the love. Claire once joked, “If a Winchester ever bickers senselessly with you for hours, then they probably like you.” Jack then made an effort to challenge everything she said for the next hour, attempting to bicker with her. Halfway through, she burst out laughing, telling him if he really liked her that much, he could have just asked her out.

“You fool.” Claire grinned, Jack blushing at the girl. “You actually tried to fight with me for a solid hour just so you could show me that you liked me.” She shook her head, snickering again. “Dork.” Claire proclaimed and pulled the Nephilim in for a kiss on the lips.

Everyone seemed to get together after that – Jody with Bobby, Charlie with a girl named Maya, and Alex with a guy named Pierre (he was Italian). The Winchesters were finally settling, finally being happy with their lives.

That didn’t mean that they stopped hunting, no, no Winchester could ever truly stop hunting. They just hunted _less_ , making more time for family, more time for each other. The Impala was still their second home, and they still used ridiculous pseudonyms with the names of famous rock stars.

 There was still evil out there in the world, and they would keep fighting it. The Winchesters would never stop fighting the evil in the world until the day they keeled over and died.

Recently, they came across a case that could indicate another Prince of Hell, or something worse. Sam didn’t even want to think about that one. Eventually, he would have to, but for now, he was going to enjoy his time with the sleeping archangel on his chest, who’s damn hair wouldn’t stop rubbing against his chest.

“Gabriel.”

“Gaaaaabriel.” The archangel lifted his head, wrinkling his nose in distaste at being woken up. “Hmm.” He muttered, rubbing his face before setting it back down on Sam’s chest. “Your hair is tickling my chest.” The hunter complained, rolling over and depositing Gabriel on the sheets next to him.

“Suck it up. I wanna sleep.” The archangel complained, snuggling closer to Sam. “I find it funny how you’re not the one who needs sleep, and yet you’re the one that’s insisting on it. Honestly. You could go years without rest and be fine.” The hunter chuckled, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend.

“Shhhhh.” Gabriel sleepily put a finger to Sam’s lips. “Too tired for complicated language or talk. M’ sleepy.” He gave a sloppy kiss over where the hunter’s heart was before closing his eyes back again and sighing in contentment.

“But I’m _bored_ ,” Sam complained jokingly, giving a kiss of his own to Gabriel’s spiky tufts of hair. “Nobody cares. I wanna sleep. Shuddap and lemme sleep.” His speech was slurred due to tiredness. His hands clumsily pulled Sam closer to himself as he traced lines over the hunter’s face.

“Y’know, you’re so pretty, Samwich. Dunno how you ended up with a guy like me.” Gabriel mumbled softly, smiling at his boyfriend. “Toldja like 10000 times. It’s because of those eyes.” Sam gently tapped the archangel’s eyelid. “Those eyes stole my heart, and now look where I am. Bickering with you on a Saturday morning.”

“How’bout we don’t bicker, and instead _sleep_?” Gabriel groaned, with no malice whatsoever in his voice. “Sleep sounds good. Sleep sounds nice. I wanna sleep.” He continued, rolling away from Sam and onto his stomach. The archangel was shirtless, so the hunter rolled over to join him, tracing constellations in between each freckle that dotted his back.

“Y’know, they say that angel kisses are freckles…” Sam murmured, laying a kiss of his own on each freckle. “If that’s true, you should be covered in freckles.” Gabriel grumbled into his pillow. “That’s okay. I don’t need freckles to know that you love me.” Sam shrugged and placed a line of kisses down the archangel’s spine.

Fucking hell, he was so lucky. Compared to what he was going through about a year ago, he was so fucking lucky. He was never going to let go of this, this relationship. This everything. Gabriel was his world, his moon and stars, his everything.

“Fuck, I love you.” The hunter swore, staring at his boyfriend. “I fucking love you so much.” Gabriel flipped over, kissing him straight on the mouth after that. “I love you too. I’m never going to stop loving you, I promise.” He tangled his hands in Sam’s hair and pulled their foreheads together. “I don’t care if I fall, I don’t care if no other angel approves. I fucking love you so much.” The hunter’s eyes watered at his words.

“You’d- you’d?” Sam stumbled over his speech after Gabriel’s promise. “If it means being with you, then sure. I’d fucking fall. I would hate it at first, and be grumpy as hell, but you know what? If I’m going to fall, there’s not a better person to fall for.” The archangel wiped a tear making its way down Sam’s face. “No, don’t you cry over me.”

Sam threw his arms around Gabriel’s neck, making half-sobs into his chest. “What? What did I do? Did I say something wrong?” The smaller man furrowed his brow in concern. “No, no. You… you said… you’re perfect. I just could never – fuck – imagine a person loving me that much.” Sam explained through tearful laughter. “Me. Samuel-fucking-Winchester with enough problems to last a lifetime.”

“That’s because of your self-depreciation issues and your fucked up mental health. I love you that much, and more Sam Winchester, so you better start fucking imagining it.” Gabriel demanded, and then attacked the hunter’s mouth with a ferocious kiss, his hands tugging at Sam’s locks as he licked the corner of his boyfriend’s mouth.

“My lifespan may be a short blink of an eye compared to yours, but I will spend my blink holding onto you while I can.” Sam promised, allowing the archangel to pull him into another possessive, passionate, kiss. They laid in bed for a while, just holding each other and making out.

“We’ve done it, Sammich. We’ve done it.” Gabriel announced suddenly. “What did we do?” Sam wondered, propping himself up on one arm. Their positions had switched to the two just lying next to each other, facing each other. “We made it. We’re fucking safe, we’ve recovered from all that shit that Asmodeus did. We’ve made it to the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“We made it.” Sam smiled, the words warm in his mouth. “We made it!” He whooped, throwing his arms and body up in the air before crashing back down on the mattress. “We fucking did it, Gabriel. I knew we could do it, I swear.”

“You know why we did it? You know why we recovered?” Gabriel teased, a cheeky grin on his face.

“Why. Why is that?”

“Call me cheesy, but it’s because we did it together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnnnnnnd there we go! Your happy ending. This should be the last writing ending, but if you see another chapter on here, it's probably because somebody drew art for it or something like that.  
> AND OKAY OKAY I KNOW DREAMHUNTER IS ADORABLE BUT SO IS JACK X CLAIRE SO YEAH I MADE THAT SHIP ANYWAY  
> PLEASE COMMENT YOUR ENDING REACTIONS DID I DO WELL ON THIS ENDING??

**Author's Note:**

> Soooooo, that was the first chapter! Comment on what you guys think! I'll post again soon.


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